Methods for determining and displaying a local page for a mobile device and systems thereof

ABSTRACT

A method, according to one embodiment, includes receiving, at a device, preference information from a user; identifying a selection, by the user, of a predetermined page to be displayed by the device; in response to the identifying of the selection, retrieving content via a network connection based on the preference information, the content including one or more articles selected by a content provider based on the preference information; automatically designing a layout of one or more objects associated with the retrieved content for display on the device; and outputting the retrieved content on the predetermined page of the device.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/656,378, filed Oct. 17, 2019, which claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/115,473, filed Aug. 28, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No.10,499,187, which claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/913,643, filed Mar. 6, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,091,613, whichclaims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/828,436, filedAug. 17, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,930,484, which in turn claimspriority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/625,448, filed Nov. 24,2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,113,342, and U.S. Provisional Patent Appl. No.61/117,890, filed Nov. 25, 2008, which are herein incorporated byreference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to retrieving and displaying content on amobile device, and more particularly to retrieving and displayingcurrent content on a mobile device depending on where the mobile deviceis located.

SUMMARY

A method, according to one embodiment, includes receiving, at a device,preference information from a user; identifying a selection, by theuser, of a predetermined page to be displayed by the device; in responseto the identifying of the selection, retrieving content via a networkconnection based on the preference information, the content includingone or more articles selected by a content provider based on thepreference information; automatically designing a layout of one or moreobjects associated with the retrieved content for display on the device;and outputting the retrieved content on the predetermined page of thedevice.

In another embodiment, a computer program product includes anon-transitory computer usable medium having computer usable programcode embodied therewith, where the computer usable program code isconfigured to receive, at a device, preference information from a user;identify a selection, by the user, of a predetermined page to bedisplayed by the device; in response to the identifying of theselection, retrieve content via a network connection based on thepreference information, the content including one or more articlesselected by a content provider based on the preference information;automatically design a layout of one or more objects associated with theretrieved content for display on the device; and output the retrievedcontent on the predetermined page of the device.

According to another embodiment, a system includes a processor; and acomputer usable medium, where the computer usable medium includescomputer usable program code embodied therewith, which when executed bythe processor causes the processor to receive, at a device, preferenceinformation from a user; identify a selection, by the user, of apredetermined page to be displayed by the device; in response to theidentifying of the selection, retrieve content via a network connectionbased on the preference information, the content including one or morearticles selected by a content provider based on the preferenceinformation; automatically design a layout of one or more objectsassociated with the retrieved content for display on the device; andoutput the retrieved content on the predetermined page of the device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature and advantages of the presentinvention, as well as illustrative modes of use, reference should bemade to the following detailed description read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a method according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 shows a method according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3 shows a simple schematic diagram of a system, according to oneembodiment.

Various embodiments of the present invention are described in furtherdetail below with reference to the figures, in which like items arenumbered the same in the several figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following paragraphs describe certain features and combinations offeatures that can be used in connection with each of the methods of theinvention and embodiments, as generally described below. Also,particular features described hereinafter can be used in combinationwith other described features in each of the various possiblecombinations and permutations. As such, the invention is not limited tothe specifically described embodiments.

Unless otherwise specifically defined herein, all terms are to be giventheir broadest possible interpretation and scope including one or moremeanings implied from the specification as well as one or more meaningsunderstood by those skilled in the art and/or as defined indictionaries, treatises, etc.

The following description is made for the purpose of illustrating thegeneral principles of the present invention and is not meant to limitthe inventive concepts claimed herein. Further, particular featuresdescribed herein can be used in combination with other describedfeatures in each of the various possible combinations and permutations.

It must also be noted that, as used in the specification and theappended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” include pluralreferents unless otherwise specified.

According to one general embodiment, a method includes determining acurrent location of a mobile device (as shown in FIG. 1 , operation102); retrieving content via a wireless connection based on the locationof the mobile device (as shown in FIG. 1 , operation 104); andoutputting the retrieved content on the mobile device (as shown in FIG.1 , operation 106).

In another general embodiment, a method includes receiving a currentlocation of a mobile device (as shown in FIG. 2 , operation 202);selecting content based on the current location of the mobile device (asshown in FIG. 2 , operation 204); and transmitting the selected contentto the mobile device via a wireless connection (as shown in FIG. 2 ,operation 206).

In another general embodiment, a system includes a processor; and acomputer usable medium, the computer usable medium having computerusable program code embodied therewith, which when executed by theprocessor causes the processor to: determine a location of a mobiledevice; retrieve content via a wireless connection based on the locationof the mobile device; and output the retrieved content on the mobiledevice.

In another general embodiment, a system includes a processor; and acomputer usable medium, the computer usable medium having computerusable program code embodied therewith, which when executed by theprocessor causes the processor to: receive a current location of amobile device; select content based on the current location of themobile device; and transmit the selected content to the mobile devicevia a wireless connection.

In yet another general embodiment a computer program product fordisplaying local content comprises: a computer usable medium havingcomputer usable program code embodied therewith, the computer usableprogram code comprising: computer usable program code configured todetermine a location of a mobile device; computer usable program codeconfigured to retrieve content via a wireless connection based on thelocation of the mobile device; and computer usable program codeconfigured to output the retrieved content on the mobile device.

In yet another general embodiment a computer program product fordisplaying local content comprises: a computer usable medium havingcomputer usable program code embodied therewith, the computer usableprogram code comprising: computer usable program code configured toreceive a current location of a mobile device; computer usable programcode configured to select content based on the current location of themobile device; and computer usable program code configured to transmitthe selected content to the mobile device via a wireless connection.

In yet another general embodiment a system comprises: logic fordetermining a location of a mobile device; logic for retrieving contentvia a wireless connection based on the location of the mobile device;and logic for outputting the retrieved content on the mobile device.

In yet another general embodiment a system comprises: logic forreceiving a current location of a mobile device; logic for selectingcontent based on the current location of the mobile device; and logicfor transmitting the selected content to the mobile device via awireless connection.

With reference to FIG. 3 , in some preferred embodiments, currentcontent 306 may be retrieved and displayed on a mobile device 308. FIG.3 is a schematic diagram of a system 300 according to one embodiment. Insome approaches, the mobile device 308 may be a mobile telephone (suchas an APPLE iPHONE, T-MOBILE G1, MOTOROLA V9, VERIZON DROID, etc.), aBLACKBERRY device, a mobile Global Positioning System (GPS) device (suchas a navigation system in an automobile, handheld GPS device, etc.),etc. In further embodiments, the mobile device 308 may have globalpositioning satellite functionality, i.e., the mobile device may be ableto calculate its coordinates (and hence determine its location) based onGPS information received through a GPS system. In still otherembodiments, the mobile device 308 may not have GPS functionality, butmay be able to determine its position based on the proximity of mobilecommunications towers 312.

In some embodiments, certain content 306 may be selected to be displayedon the mobile device 308. This content may be automatically selected bythe mobile device 308 or by another system, such as a service whichprovides the content 306 to the mobile device 308, a program running onthe mobile device 308, a website which the mobile device 308 accesses toretrieve some or all of the content 306, etc. Moreover, selection of thecontent may be made based on the approximate or actual geographiclocation of the mobile device 308. Preferably, the content is requestedand/or selected based at least in part on location information about themobile device that is more accurate than geographic information derivedfrom a proximity to mobile communication towers. In one particularlypreferred approach, the content is requested and/or selected based atleast in part on a GPS-based location of the mobile device. Accordingly,in one approach, a request for information sent from the mobile device308 to a content provider may include coordinates or other positioninginformation derived on the mobile device from GPS data. An illustrativeseries of operations on the mobile device, in no particular order, mayinclude receiving a request from a user for content such as a home page;the mobile device ascertains its location using GPS data; informationabout the location is sent with a request for content to a service orcontent provider; and content relating to the location is received bythe mobile device and output thereby. In one approach, the mobile devicemay simply receive a user request for the user's normal home page, butwill actually receive (from a content provider) information pertinent tothe present location of the device, with or without other informationthat the user would normally receive when at his or her “home” area orlocation. Thus, for example, when the user is in his or her “home” areaor location, the home page received by the device may includeinformation according to preferences set by the user and/or pertainingto the user's home area or location. When the user is in some otherlocation, the home page received by the device may include informationpertaining to the present location of the mobile device, without theuser specifically requesting such information when requesting the homepage.

In one approach, a user may select or preselect which content to displayon a local page, which may be displayed on the mobile device 308, e.g.,upon the device sending a request for a local page. The user may selectthe content 306 from a predefined group of content, including type orclass of content, which the device may access, and/or the user maysearch for content, which the mobile device 308 may then update uponrequest. The user selected content 306 may be updated each time themobile device 308 retrieves content.

In preferred embodiments, the mobile device 308 may determine a currentlocation of the mobile device 308. Any method and/or system capable ofdetermining the current location of the mobile device may be used,including GPS, communication tower 312 proximities, etc. For example,the mobile device may use the GPS capability to determine its currentcoordinates, to a reasonable accuracy, such as within or less than 10square miles from the estimated or actual location of the device, 1square mile, 100 square yards, 10 square yards, within or less than aradius of 10 miles, within a radius of 1 mile, within a radius of 100yards, within a radius of 10 yards, at the estimated or actual locationitself (e.g., within the range of accuracy of the measurement), etc. ormore or less relative to the position of the device. The accuracy towhich the mobile device should determine its present location may dependupon other factors, such as the content to be retrieved, the generallocation, the amount of attractions within close proximity, etc., thougha default accuracy or area may suffice for many applications.

In one approach, the mobile device 308 may use signals from GPSsatellites 310 in order to approximate its position. In anotherapproach, the mobile device 308 may use mobile communications towers 312with which to approximate its location, such as through triangulation,last tower pinged, etc.

In some approaches, an event may trigger the mobile device 308 todetermine its current location. An event may include a passage of apredetermined period of time, such as 10 min., 30 min., 60 min., etc. ormore or less. Of course, a periodic check may be performed after more orless time, and factors may be taken into account when setting the presettime period, such as the power used each time the mobile device 308determines its present location (in addition to the battery life of themobile device 308), the time of day in the local region (i.e., less orno location checks may be needed between the hours of 12:00 AM and 6:00AM local time, etc.), user tendencies, etc. In some embodiments, a usermay select the time period between periodic location checks of themobile device 308, possibly through an interface with the mobile device308, a website, a system providing content to the mobile device 308,etc.

In another approach, an event that may trigger the mobile device 308 todetermine its current location may include an input from a user, such asa user request to update content, search for new content, view contenthaving some geographic relationship to the proximity to the currentposition of the mobile device 308, etc. Such content may include localweather, airport delays, traffic reports or status, nearby places suchas restaurants and other businesses, nearby people, etc. The content 306may be output on a browser of the mobile device 308, a display of themobile device 308, a homepage of the mobile device 308, etc.

In another approach, a trigger may include moving the mobile device 308from the service area of one communications tower 312 to the servicearea of another communications tower 312 (switching of mobilecommunication towers). For example, if the mobile device 308 is a mobiletelephone, when a user moves the mobile telephone from one city toanother, the mobile telephone will search for a new communications tower312 from which it can receive and transmit data. When the mobiletelephone switches communications towers 312, it may also determine thepresent location of the mobile device 308, thereby keeping the presentlocation current with movements of the mobile telephone.

In some preferred embodiments, the mobile device 308 may determine thepresent location through a GPS system, while retrieving content througha different system, such as a wireless mobile telephone system. Forexample, if the mobile device 308 is a 3G mobile telephone equipped withGPS, the present location may be determined through GPS functionality,while content may be retrieved through the 3G wireless network.

In some additional embodiments, the location of the mobile device 308may be determined by calculating a position based on global positioningsatellite 310 information. In other embodiments, the location may bedetermined through triangulation or some other method of determiningposition based on proximity to mobile communication towers. In someembodiments, GPS information may be used when available, and if it isnot available, the mobile device 308 or some other system may rely ondetermining position based on proximity to mobile communication towers312. In some approaches, the current location may be transmitted toanother system or entity, such as a content provider, a communicationsprovider, an internet application, etc.

In some further embodiments, the mobile device 308 may be equipped witha component, wherein the coordinates of the current location of thecomponent may be determined through a satellite-based GPS. In theseapproaches, the mobile device 308 may or may not have the componentincluded internally, and the component may or may not be provided withthe mobile device 308 during an initial purchase transaction. Forexample, the component may be an add-on feature which may be purchasedfrom a service provider, content provider, etc., after the mobile device308 has already been purchased and provided to a user.

In some embodiments, the outputting the retrieved content 306 on themobile device 308 may comprise displaying the retrieved content 306 onthe mobile device 308. In addition, in some embodiments, the content 306may be displayed on the mobile device 308 according to a certain layout.The layout may be designed by a user, by a system providing content tothe mobile device, by a website, etc. In another approach, the mobiledevice 308, system providing content to the mobile device 308, website,etc., may automatically design the layout of the content based onfactors, such as user preferences, number of times content item has beenselected, location of the mobile device 308, etc. For example, if a userfrequently checks the weather when arriving at a new location, themobile device 308 may display the current weather at the top of thelayout of a local page for the new location that the mobile device 308is located. In other embodiments, the usual home page may have a link tothe local content, such as a “local content” link, “local restaurants”link, “local weather” link, or other link. The mobile device 308 maydetect selection of the “local” link, which initiates retrieval of thelocal content 306 based on the location of the mobile device 308.

In further embodiments, the mobile device 308 and/or content providermay allow the user to set a preference that causes the mobile device 308to receive local information based on the present location of the mobiledevice 308 automatically or by default. For example, a preference may beset, under direction of the user, that causes all or a portion of theusual browser home page to output local information based on the presentlocation of the mobile device 308. For example, assume a user is aboutto fly from San Jose, Calif. to New York. While the user is in San Jose,the home page may output weather information and airport delayinformation for San Jose. When the user arrives in New York, the homepage may instead, or in addition, output weather information and airportdelay information for New York.

Moreover, whether and/or how the location-related information is outputmay be stored on the mobile device 308 and/or by a provider. Forexample, using the San Jose to New York scenario, after landing in NewYork, the mobile device 308 may send information to the providerindicating that local information is desired, upon which the providermay send content relating to New York (or portion thereof) to the mobiledevice 308. The information sent by the mobile device 308 may includethe location of the mobile device. In another approach, the informationsent by the mobile device 308 may include an indication for the providerto ascertain the location of the mobile device 308, e.g., by determiningwhich tower the mobile device 308 is communicating with.

In another example, the user's preference is saved by the provider orother entity. Upon receiving a request for content such as a home pagefrom the mobile device 308, the receiving system may determine theuser's preference, and automatically send back content relating to NewYork (or portion thereof) to the mobile device 308. Preferably, thecontent is selected and/or output in the format and/or layout typicallyused in the user's home page, e.g., including providing content by typeor category (e.g., news, weather, etc.).

In some preferred embodiments, the content comprises at least one ofcurrent weather, current time, airline information, local news, localrestaurants, etc. This content is preferably provided for locationswithin a predetermined distance of the present location of the mobiledevice 308, e.g., 10 miles, 5 miles, 1 mile, 0.5 miles, 0.25 miles, etc.

In some preferred embodiments, the content may be displayed on a localpage (which may be a distinct page, a variation of the user's home pageor portion thereof, etc.) on the mobile device 308, where the local pagemay comprise a navigable screen. For example, the local page mayresemble a webpage, where the user may navigate to and from contentthrough interface with on screen items like hyper text links, radiobuttons, etc. In additional embodiments, the local page may resemble aselectable setting, such as a work desk, home, kitchen, car, etc., wherecontent may be navigated through selection of one or more objectsdisplayed on the local page. Any other display method may also be usedto represent the local page to the user.

In some approaches, the content to output to the mobile device 308 maybe specified. In some further approaches, a content provider and/or acommunications provider and/or an internet application may specify thecontent to output to the mobile device 308. For example, a contentprovider may include GOOGLE, which could provide current news. GOOGLEmay select which current news articles are most relevant based oncriteria provided, such as location, time, user preferences for types ofnews stories, etc. In another example, a communications provider mayinclude a mobile telephone service provider, such as SPRINT or VERIZON,where the communications provider may select content to output to themobile device 308, such as current time, temperature, etc., which may bebased on other criteria, as discussed above.

In some additional approaches, a user may specify the content to beprovided to the mobile device 308, such as by setting preferences on thelocal page, indicating preferences for certain type of information, orfrom consistently accessing particular applications, information, data,etc. For example, a preference for local weather, traffic, andrestaurants may be set. Accordingly, these items are output,automatically or upon request, when the user accesses the browser.

The program environment in which a present embodiment of the inventionmay be executed illustratively incorporates one or more general-purposecomputers or special-purpose devices. Details of such devices (e.g.,processor, memory, data storage, input and output devices) are wellknown and are omitted for the sake of clarity.

It should also be understood that the techniques presented herein mightbe implemented using a variety of technologies. For example, the methodsdescribed herein may be implemented in software running on a computersystem, or implemented in hardware utilizing either a combination ofmicroprocessors or other specially designed application specificintegrated circuits, programmable logic devices, or various combinationsthereof. In particular, methods described herein may be implemented by aseries of computer-executable instructions residing on a storage mediumsuch as a carrier wave, disk drive, or computer-readable medium.Exemplary forms of carrier waves may be electrical, electromagnetic oroptical signals conveying digital data streams along a local network ora publicly accessible network such as the Internet. In addition,although specific embodiments of the invention may employobject-oriented software programming concepts, the invention is not solimited and is easily adapted to employ other forms of directing theoperation of a computer.

Various embodiments can also be provided in the form of a computerprogram product comprising a computer readable medium having computercode thereon. A computer readable medium can include any medium capableof storing computer code thereon for use by a computer, includingoptical media such as read only and writeable CD and DVD, magneticmemory, semiconductor memory (e.g., FLASH memory and other portablememory cards, etc.), etc. Further, such software can be downloadable orotherwise transferable from one computing device to another via network,wireless link, nonvolatile memory device, etc.

Additionally, some or all of the aforementioned code may be embodied onany computer readable storage media including tape, FLASH memory, systemmemory, hard drive, etc. Additionally, a data signal embodied in acarrier wave (e.g., in a network including the Internet) can be thecomputer readable storage medium.

In one embodiment, a system 300 includes a processor 302; a computerusable medium 304, the computer usable medium 304 having computer usableprogram code embodied therewith, which when executed by the processorcauses the processor to perform certain tasks. In one embodiment, thetasks include determining a location of a mobile device 308, retrievingcontent 306 via a wireless connection 312, 314 based on the location ofthe mobile device 308, and outputting the retrieved content 306 on themobile device 308.

In another embodiment, a computer usable medium, the computer usablemedium having computer usable program code embodied therewith causes theprocessor 302 to receive a current location of a mobile device 308,select content 306 based on the current location of the mobile device308, and transmit the selected content 306 to the mobile device 308 viaa wireless connection 312, 314.

In more approaches, a system 300 includes logic for determining alocation of a mobile device 308, logic for retrieving content 306 via awireless connection (either of 312 and 314) based on the location of themobile device 308, and logic for outputting the retrieved content 306 onthe mobile device 308, such as on a display.

In more approaches, a system includes logic for receiving a currentlocation of a mobile device 308, logic for selecting content 306 basedon the current location of the mobile device 308, and logic fortransmitting the selected content 306 to the mobile device 308 via awireless connection 312, 314.

While various embodiments have been described above, it should beunderstood that they have been presented by way of example only, and notlimitation. Thus, the breadth and scope of an embodiment should not belimited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but shouldbe defined only in accordance with the following claims and theirequivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: receiving, at a device,preference information from a user; determining a current location ofthe device; sending the current location of the device to a contentprovider; identifying a request, by the user, for a predetermined pageto be displayed by the device; in response to the identifying of theselection, receiving content via a network connection, the content beingselected by a content provider based on the preference information;receiving additional content via the network connection for inclusion inthe predetermined page, the additional content being selected by thecontent provider based on the current location of the device, whereinthe additional content includes selectable links for navigation to othercontent associated with the additional content; automatically designinga layout of the received content for display on the device; andoutputting, on a display of the device, the received content on thepredetermined page in the layout.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein thedevice is a mobile telephone.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein thecontent provider is GOOGLE.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein thepredetermined page is a home page of the user.
 5. The method of claim 1,comprising receiving an indication of different types of content to beretrieved and output.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the indicationof the different types of the content is specified by a user.
 7. Themethod of claim 5, wherein the indication of the different types of thecontent is determined utilizing a user's past data access.
 8. The methodof claim 1, wherein the additional content is determined by the contentprovider to be pertinent to a present location of the device, whereinthe additional content is output on the predetermined page along withother content that the content provider would normally select when thedevice is in the user's home area.
 9. The method of claim 4, wherein theadditional content is added to the user's home page in a formattypically used in the user's home page.
 10. The method of claim 4,wherein the additional content is added to the user's home page in alayout typically used in the user's home page.
 11. The method of claim10, wherein the additional content is added to a section of the homepage having content of like type.
 12. The method of claim 1, comprisingdetermining that the current location is different from a home locationof the user, and wherein the predetermined page includes informationpertaining to the current location of the device, without the userspecifically requesting the information pertaining to the currentlocation when requesting the predetermined page.
 13. The method of claim1, comprising determining that the current location of the device haschanged; and changing the additional content in the predetermined pageto additional content selected based on the new current location.
 14. Acomputer program product comprising: a non-transitory computer usablemedium having computer usable program code embodied therewith, thecomputer usable program code configured to: receive, at a device,preference information from a user; determine a current location of thedevice; send the current location of the device to a content provider;identify a request, by the user, for a predetermined page to bedisplayed by the device; in response to the identifying of theselection, receive content via a network connection, the content beingselected by a content provider based on the preference information;receive additional content via the network connection for inclusion inthe predetermined page, the additional content being selected by thecontent provider based on the current location of the device, whereinthe additional content includes selectable links for navigation to othercontent associated with the additional content; automatically design alayout of the received content for display on the device; and output, ona display of the device, the content on the predetermined page in thelayout.
 15. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the deviceis a mobile telephone.
 16. The computer program product of claim 14,wherein the content provider is GOOGLE.
 17. The computer program productof claim 14, wherein the device is an APPLE iPHONE.
 18. The computerprogram product of claim 14, comprising computer usable program codeconfigured to receive an indication of different types of content to beretrieved and output.
 19. The computer program product of claim 18,wherein the indication of the different types of the content isspecified by a user.
 20. A system, comprising: a processor; and acomputer usable medium, the computer usable medium having computerusable program code embodied therewith, which when executed by theprocessor causes the processor to: receive, at a device, preferenceinformation from a user; determine a current location of the device;send the current location of the device to a content provider; identifyrequest, by the user, for a predetermined page to be displayed by thedevice; in response to the identifying of the selection, receive contentvia a network connection, the content being selected by a contentprovider based on the preference information; receive additional contentvia the network connection for inclusion in the predetermined page, theadditional content being selected by the content provider based on thecurrent location of the device, wherein the additional content includesselectable links for navigation to other content associated with theadditional content; automatically design a layout of the receivedcontent for display on the device; and output, on a display of thedevice, received content on the predetermined page in the layout.